Events leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 when the United States and the Soviet Union confronted each other with nuclear destruction. A helicopter lands on the White House lawn in Washington DC. Beach views in Cuba. A military parade. Desecration of a monument. A crowd of cheering Cuban people as Fidel Castro enters Havana, Cuba in 1959. United Nations building. Fidel Castro and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev embrace. Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union Anastas Mikoyan deplanes and is greeted by Fidel Castro in Havana. A trade agreement between Russia and Cuba signed by Fidel Castro. Russian cargo ships en route to Havana. Cuban refugees in small boats. A map depicts proximity of Cuba to the U.S. U.S. surveillance aircraft heading for Cuba. A sign reads 'HQ. 4080 S W Intelligence Division'. Men examine reconnaissance photographs of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. The photographs show transports and tents for fueling and maintenance. A sign reads 'Strategic Missile Facility GAM 77 Combined Systems'. U.S. rockets readied for any emergency. A U.S. Air Force aircraft takes off from an airfield. U.S. Navy ships in the Atlantic Ocean. A U.S. submarine underway at sea.

Camera pans along a portion of the "Berlin Wall" made of rough concrete blocks topped by barbed wire. Next, a large group of East German people are seen lined up along a fence topped with barbed wire. They look through the fence. More views of the rough concrete block wall. Scene shifts to Asia, where large numbers of refugees are seen moving along a dirt road. Glimpse of Soviet military on parade in Red Square. Refugees and displaced persons in various places and conditions. Some are barefoot. Huge crowds filling Red Square in Moscow,Soviet Russia. The Kremlin wall and old Russian Senate building and Senate Tower in background. Glimpse of Felix Dzerzhinsky giving empassioned speech in Soviet Russia. Glimpse of fallen refugees beside a road. The film displays a rotating globe of the earth and slate identifying "The Big Picture." A statue and photograph of Karl Marx, the philosopher who espoused Communism. Communists marching during early days of the Soviet revolution in Russia. Series of One-way road signs in various languages. Large gathering of German people carrying signs reading "Frieden" (Peace). View of a person apprehended attempting to escape across the barrier separating East and West Germany. Closeup picture of East German citizen, Bernt Leuton, who was shot by East German border guards, after successfully swimming to West Germany.

Newsreel coverage of the successful space flights of Soviet Russian astronauts in Vostok 3 and Vostok 4, during timeframe of "space race" between the Soviet Union and the United States of America. The Russian astronauts Andriyan Nikolayev and Pavel Popovich climb into manned space vehicles. Massive cloud of smoke arise as space ship lifts off. The vehicles travel through space and orbit around the planet within 24 hours of each other. Views from the spaceships while in orbit. The space crew at controls on the ground in Russia. Many newspaper headlines showing coverage of the Russian advance in space. Civilians in Red Square in Moscow cheer the new space heroes. They hold banners and pictures including a large photo of Andriyan Nikolayev.

The Russians turn out for a reindeer race in Russia. The reindeer race starts. The spectators watch the race. Teams of reindeer pull sleds while in the race. The spectators cheer. Views of the winner of the race.